Unexpected: A Naruto Shippuden Fanfiction
by CarelessDream
Summary: A fanfiction of SakuHina Sakura x Hinata . Naruto is back from his training with Jiraiya when him, Neji, Sasuke, Sakura, and Hinata are on their way to Ichiraku Ramen as the result of a lost bet. Hinata confesses to Naruto but he takes it in an unexpected way. Hinata runs away after hearing his words and Sakura follows after her!
1. Chapter 1: Unexpected course!

~Unexpected~

-A Sakura x Hinata Story-

It had not been too long since Naruto came back from training with Jiraiya. Everyone was surprised about how much he had changed, both physically and mentally. But one thing stayed the same..Hinata still had a crush on him, or what was now love. Naruto was still somewhat oblivious to her feelings, but Hinata didn't mind.

"As long as I can be near him.." Was all she thought.

In the time that Naruto was gone, Sakura had given up on Sasuke. But surprisingly when Naruto came back, Sasuke was with him. Sakura, surprised, realized that those feelings of love were replaced with relief that he was back and she only felt a friendship between them. Sasuke had felt the same way so now him and Sakura were good close friends.

There was a slight breeze flowing throughout all of the Hidden Leaf Village that was almost too subtle too notice. It was autumn with red and maple colored leaves strewn about the streets of the village.  
Hinata along with Naruto,Sasuke,Sakura, and Neji were on there way to Ichiraku Ramen with small chit chat amidst the group.

"Man I can't believe I have to treat everybody to ramen. Last time I take a bet from Naruto!" Neji complained.

Everyone had a laugh as they were a mere ten yards away from the entrance to the ramen shop. All this time Hinata was silently listening to the chatter among her friends gathering up her courage to confess to Naruto.  
She started fidgeting with her fingers when she decided to just confess already.

"N-Naruto-kun.." Hinata quietly said.

"Huh?" Naruto turned around to Hinata and tilted his head with a smile, "What's up Hinata?"

The rest of the group went ahead and waited for them, Sakura a little behind the group just within earshot of Naruto and Hinata.

"U-uhm..I've been t-thinking and.." Hinata's face quickly turned red as she glanced at Naruto from under her deep blue-purple bangs. "Uhm..I-i love you..N-naruto-kun.."

The smile on Naruto's face turned into a somewhat twisted disgusted expression, his eye twinging with irritation.

"Heh..so what Hinata? You love me? You expect me to return your feelings?" Naruto's tone of voice was monotone for the most part but had a hint of a smug attitude, "Who would love a girl like you? You can't even hold your own in battle. And what's worse is that you barely even speak. You're dull in so many ways!" Naruto started snickering rather rudely. "Hahaha! Who would want to be with you?"

With all the words she had just heard, Hinata started clutched her chest and tears started streaming down her face, making her cheeks shine with salty stinging tears. Hinata could barely breathe, she bit her lower lip and started sniffling with a hint of whimpering that started to get louder.

Before Naruto could say another insulting word, Sakura had charged in with her fist clenched so tight her gloves tore a bit at the knuckles.

"You..BASTARD!" Sakura yelled as she hurled her fist at Naruto with such force that it sent him flying towards a nearby building, making him crash right into the pillar just inside. She walked up to him and grabbed him by the collar glaring at him with a face full of disgust and seething rage. "You watch what you say to her Naruto! How can you be so damn insensitive to her feelings! She's loved you ever since you two met! Next time I won't go so easy on you."

Sakura dropped Naruto onto the rubble and turned around to find Hinata gone, her headband on the ground with dark spots on the cloth from where her tears fell. Pained, Sakura picked up Hinata's headband and walked over to Sasuke,  
put her hand on his shoulder and told him something that no one else was able to hear. A look of exhaustion and worry was spread across her face as she ran to go find Hinata.

Sasuke walked over to Naruto with a look he hadn't seen for a long time,annoyance.

With his arm draped over the handle of his sword, Sasuke picked Naruto up by the collar and sneered. "Oi baka, you got alotta nerve to say crap like that when we're around."

"Guh..Sasuke. Why do you take their side? I thought we were friends man..." Naruto choked.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he talked with more irritation in his voice,"We are. But don't expect me to tolerate shit like that. You insult Sakura's friends and you insult me. Watch your mouth little man.  
You better hope Tsunade-sama isn't the one that treats your wounds because they'll just get worse if she finds out what you did."

Sasuke dragged Naruto towards the medical ward as Neji looked back at them with a quiet sigh,"..."

~On the outskirts of Konoha~

"Why..why did Naruto-kun say all those things? M-..maybe I am useless." Hinata sat down against a tree and buried her face into her arms which were propped up against her knees. "What do I do now? How can I face everyone after what they saw?..*Sigh* I wish Sakura-san was here.."

There was the sound of shoes brushing through the grass, Hinata so deep in thought looking out at the lake that lay before her she did not notice someone approaching.

"Hey are you alright?" Came a dreamy yet somewhat monotone voice.

Hinata turned to see Sai holding his sketchbook and his drawing implement, his other hand resting on her shoulder with a concerned look on his face.

"Oh Sai it's you. Y-yeah I'm fine.." Hinata sniffled as she wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "I just got my heart broken haha.." Hinata tried to cover up her pain with,clearly obvious, cheer. "Things..just didn't go the way I hoped it would.  
And this person was not who I fell in love with.." Her eyelids drooped slightly with a sorrowful smile on her face, gulping with a bit of difficulty as she choked on that last sentence. "Maybe he's right..who would want to care for someone like me?  
By the way Sai-kun what are you doing here?

Sai had sat down next to Hinata as he looked at her with worried eyes , frowning as he pat Hinata's head with slight gentleness, "Ah I usually come here in my free time to sketch. And Hinata-san if that were true..would she be here?"

Sai genuinely smiled and motioned to Sakura who was propping herself up on a nearby tree with one hand as her other was clenching Hinata's Konoha headband,gasping rather heavily. Hinata stared at her with an unbreaking vision, her face growing hot as she realized that Sai was right. Hinata gasped realizing she was blushing and hid her face in her arms again as Sakura smiled and nodded to Sai who took his leave on that note.

"Hinata-san don't believe what some blockhead says to you. You'd be pretty surprised at how wrong that statement can be proven." Sai got up and smiled,walking somewhat briskly towards Sakura.

"Sakura-san," Sai whispered as he passed her, "Take care of her. If someone can cause those wounds, there is surely someone who can heal them." Putting his hand on Sakura's shoulder he smiled and jumped off into another part of the village's outskirts.

"H-Hinata.." Sakura weakily said as she leaned her back against the tree,sliding down so she was right next to her,"You..forgot this.." Sakura smiled as she held out Hinata's headband,neatly folded. "I dont..want you wandering off like that again..Hah MAN did it take me a while to catch up to you." Sakura laughed as she breathed out again after wiping some sweat from her forehead.

"Sakura-san..how come you're sweating? It's rather cold isn't it?" Hinata frowned.

"Oi Hinata...is that a way to greet someone who made sure you got your headband back? Haha I'm just joking..I ran as fast as I could to find you. I didn't want to leave you all alone at this time." Sakura smiled as she still held her hand extended towards Hinata, still holding her headband.

Hinata blushed slightly having forgotten to take it from her hand, "Oh sorry Sakura-san!.." She took the headband back and had noticed Sakura's torn gloves as she rested it on her leg. "S-sakura-san! What happened to your gloves? Did something bad happen?" Hinata quickly took Sakura's hand in hers and cradled it gently,looking down at it with a frown.

"Ah you don't need to worry Hinata. Please don't get mad but I was listening to the whole conversation between you and Naruto. I got really pissed when I heard him say those terrible things to you so I decked him. Haha..I guess I was angrier than I thought haha..tore my gloves." Sakura said in a joking tone as she let Hinata cradle her hand in such a way that prompted her to speak again, "But you know Hinata.." Sakura said quietely as she took off her torn gloves, "What I did to Naruto, what he said to make me so angry at him,  
what made me punch the living hell out of him was worth my time because I wanted to make sure that what he said to you.." Sakura scooted in front of Hinata and turned to face her, gently pressing her hand against Hinata's cheek, smiling warmly, "Was something that he'd regret.." Gently rubbing her thumb against Hinata's smooth cheek, Sakura placed her other hand up against Hinata's other cheek looking directly at her, making Hinata blush.

Hinata smiled and held Sakura's hands against her face as she thought to herself, "Sakura-san..you know when to be tough.." She gently squeezed Sakura's hands and closed her eyes, "But these hands are so gentle. Filled with warmth I never knew of."

Hinata opened her eyes to see Sakura gazing back at her, blushing with an embarrassed look on her face. Hinata was so taken aback by Sakura's beauty. Her soft and layered pink hair, her slim but attractive body, her beautiful jade-green eyes, and along with her beautiful smile..Hinata loved it all.  
Hinata found herself feeling spellbound by Sakura's beauty as she gently let Sakura's hands down and placed her own hands around Sakura's face, bringing her closer as her index finger carressed Sakura's jawline.

Sakura began blushing like mad as her eyes never broke sight from Hinata's beautiful pale ones. She opened her lips to speak but Hinata gently pressed her index finger against her lips and smiled, leaning in closer until their faces were a mere half-inch apart.  
"S-..sakura-chan.." Hinata muttered as she closed the distance between their lips,kissing Sakura rather lovingly as her fingers ran up the side of Sakura's face,running through the soft pink hair she loved so much rather thoroughly.

Sakura had tensed up when Hinata kissed her but made no attempt to break away from her, blushing as she wrapped her arms around Hinata's mid-section. "This feels..right" Sakura thought in her mind, slowly closing her eyes as she felt herself melt more and more into the kiss.

Suddenly Hinata broke away from Sakura, horror broke across her face as she hunched over and leaned heavily against Sakura, a kunai dug into her back. Sakura's eyes widened with more horror as she saw the bloody kunai in Hinata's back, somehow digging deeper into her back as Sakura cried out, 'HINATTAAAAAAA!"  
Sakura's scream echoed throughout the village, alerting nearby shinobi who ran to the source of the cry.

The assailant jumped up into a distant tree from the bush from which he was hiding and gritted his teeth, "Tch.." He scoffed as he jumped off into nearby darkness. 


	2. Chapter 2: Broken puzzle pieces

Sakura was sobbing loudly as she pulled the kunai out of Hinata's back, holding her hand over the wound as she attempted to heal it. "Hinata...Hinata! Please wake up.." Sakura hung her head down and tears fell onto Hinata's warm cheek.  
Feeling like she was about to break, she cried out once again with a much sharper feeling of sorrow.

It wasn't long before news of Hinata being attacked spread through the village like wildfire, reaching the Hokage within just a few minutes. Tsunade came running with a small team of medical ninjas who carried Hinata to the medical ward, leaving Sakura behind with Tsunade.

"Sakura, what exactly happened here?" Tsunade asked with a calm voice but was clearly masking a very agitated tone.

Sakura told her mentor what had happened and Tsunade took her leave. Sakura leaned back onto the tree and sat down with her eyes glazed over with emotionless shine. "How could I let this happen? What kind of ninja am I?..A medical ninja no less! And I couldn't even heal that wound.."  
Sakura kept reeling those thoughts through her mind over and over again. Unaware of her own condition, Sakura's body slowly grew pale with each passing hour. After several hours in that same spot tearing up bits of grass, Sakura got up and made her way through the village not knowing where she was supposed to go.

Walking past many stalls with vendors shouting of their wares, Sakura dragged her feet around the village almost lifelessly with no shine in her eyes the commotion of the market fading away faster and faster. Sakura snapped out of her zombie-like trance when she bumped into her old friend Ino who was with Choji and Shikamaru.

"Hey Sakura what's u-..Sakura are you alright? You're really pale...And your eyes are.." Ino separated herself from her friends who were chatting away in their own world and looked Sakura dead in the eye. "Sakura what happened?  
You're never like this."

Sakura couldn't help the tears that streamed down her face when she snapped out of her depressed state, "H-Hinata..was attacked while she was..with me." is all Sakura said in such a quiet voice that Ino almost didn't hear what she had been told.

"What? Sakura if that's the case shouldn't you be helping? Who better to treat the wounds than the one who was actually there when it happened? Go you baka! Don't waste anymore time!" Ino scolded rather harshly.

"What am I still doing here..? Ino's right. I should be there with the medical team helping!" Sakura scolded herself. Sakura ran as fast as she could to where Hinata was and disappeared from Ino's sight quickly.

"Who knew that you would recover from Sasuke and find someone new, Sakura?" Ino thought to herself as she chuckled and went off with her friends to the training field.

~Medical ward~

Hinata was sleeping soundly on a bed after being treated when Sakura practically knocked down the door, making commotion when the nurses inside the room made her calm down first. Sakura was looking at Hinata the entire time, more worried than she ever had been before,  
her brow furrowed with such discomfort as she still saw a hint of pain in Hinata's face but not as much as before.

"H-how is she?" Sakura asked while catching her breath.

The nurse smiled with no worries, "She's just fine, the kunai that was used to injure her had some type of poison coated onto it but there was a remedy on hand that cured it. Here is a sample of it and the formula the medical ninja team came up with after analyzing it."

A great big smile spread across Sakura's face as she sighed in relief taking a look at the poison samples provided, "Is it ok for me to stay with her until she wakes up?" The nurses nodded as they left the room, leaving Sakura as she scanned the poison and the formula. "Hm..the symptoms: dizzyness inducing agent, lack of energy, vision span shortened..  
and a few others.."

"Nnn..." Hinata slowly opened her eyes and sat up seeing Sakura on a stool near the bed studying the information, "S-sakura-san?...What are you doing here?" Hinata asked weakily.

Sakura looked up from the papers and smiled putting them away, "Shh..Hinata just rest. You think I wasn't going to visit when I was partially at fault? I didn't stop it and of course uhm..because we y-you know.." Sakura's face took on a somewhat deep shade of pink as she looked away. "B-because we...k-kissed.." Sakura gripped Hinata's hand a bit as she glanced back at Hinata who was looking at her with a serious look.

"Sakura-san about that..I think it would be best if we forgot about that. I mean I just had that drama with Naruto and I didn't know what I was doing..a-and we're both girls on top of that." Hinata said nervously as she clenched the sheets so tight her knuckles turned slightly white, looking away from Sakura as she bit her bottom lip. "I'm sorry Sakura-san..but everytime I look into your eyes I feel like...like I lose myself in that vast ocean of your shining eyes."

Sakura's smile slowly faded away into a emotionless line. Sakura's eyes looked at Hinata with disbelief as her hands let go of Hinata's hand, which landed with an almost inaudible thud, "W-why? When we kissed it felt like..you wanted it as much as me. It doesn't matter if we're both girls. What I'm feeling is just meant for you..not Sasuke, not Naruto, nobody except you!" Sakura cried. Although Sakura could not see her face, Hinata's eyes were cringing in sadness as she silently cried painful tears.

Sakura got up and ran towards the door when it slid open, "Heeeeey Hinata-san I got you some flow-" Ino nearly dropped the vase of flowers she was carrying when Sakura bumped into her, looking at her with tears down her face as she ran past Ino down the empty hall. "Sakura looked worse than when I saw her earlier. What in the world is going on?.." Ino questioned. She walked towards Hinata looking more serious than cheerful, quietely placing the flowers on the stand next to Hinata's hospital bed.  
"Hinata what the hell is going on? First I see Sakura moping around the village because you got attacked while you were with her now I see her running out of the room with a tear-ridden face! If something is going on I 'ought to know."

"..." Hinata just looked back at Ino with what seemed like emotionless eyes.

Ino got more irritated the longer Hinata went on without answering her, "Hey Hinata I'm talking to you!"

Ino had just grabbed Hinata by the collar when Tsunade walked in to check up, "Ino Yamanaka I KNOW I taught you better, now let her go."

"But sensei, on two occasions now Sakura bumped into me upset and crying because of Hinata-san!" Ino retorted.

"If you insist on finding out what's going on why don't you ask Sakura yourself?" Tsunade frowned as she rested her head against her hand in frustration.

Ino hung her head down in defeat and slowly made her way out of the room, "Yes sensei..."

~Out in the village~

Ino had been wandering around the village for ten minutes looking for Sakura when she saw Sasuke walking with a bandaged Naruto.

"Sasuke-kuuuun! Hey Naruto-kun what happened to you haha! Sorry don't mean that in a bad way. Anyway have either of you seen Sakura around?" Ino asked.

"Hey Ino. Oh I saw Sakura head back to her house a few minutes ago. She's probably still there." Sasuke answered.

"Thanks Sasuke-kun! I'll see you two later." Ino said as she ran off towards Sakura's house.

"Sasuke..why did you help out that crazy bi-" Was all Naruto could say before Sasuke punched him not too hard in the back of the head.

"Naruto what have you learned from insulting gir-" Sasuke noticed that there was no solid surface against his fist anymore. All he saw was a wisp of smoke that almost completely dissipated, "A shadow clone? When did he...?" Sasuke looked around seeing no sign of Naruto.  
"Crap where did he go? I was under strict orders to keep an eye on him. He changed during his training but I didn't think it would get to THIS point..insulting girls rather harshly. I better let Tsunade-sama know." Sasuke quickly ran back in the direction of the Hokage mansion, gripping the handle of his katana tightly.  
"Dammit Naruto!..."

~Sakura's home~

As Ino got to Sakura's house she stopped and thought, "Hm..if she's this upset she probably won't get up to answer the door.." Ino jumped onto part of the roof that was right beside Sakura's room window and knocked, smiling as Sakura looked at her from inside her room.

"Ino..what'd I tell you about doing that?" Sakura dully said as she slid open the window to let her in, her eyes swollen and scrunched up tissues around the garbage can.

"I know I know Sakura but I figure you wouldn't have answered the door if I tried to come in the normal way" Ino countered. "Anyway this has been bugging me for a while. What's been going on between you and Hinata? First I see you all depressed wandering around the village then I see you running out of her room with tears on your face.." Ino sat next to her and wrapped her arm around Sakura's shoulder, "You know you have me to talk to.."

Sakura started crying again as she leaned her head against Ino's shoulder, "I just don't get it Ino! First Naruto goes and insults Hinata after confessing her feelings to him. I punch him because what he did to her just pissed me off. Me and her...k-kiss after I console her then she gets hurt. And.." Sakura calms down and lowers to a quiet level, hiccuping every so often, " After she wakes up, she says that...that!.." Sakura wiped the tears that ran down her cheek once again and gulped with difficulty, "That we can't be more than friends! Because of the drama of her and Naruto, that was one of the reasons and I understand that. But she also said that she...she didn't know what she was doing and we couldn't because we were both girls! I mean..it doesn't matter who you like. As long as you like someone and..they feel the same way it should be ok." Sakura just kept crying into her hands as Ino looked at her sadly and held her tighter.

"Sakura..." Ino didn't know what she could do for her friend had this point.

"Ino..why does it hurt this much. How come it hurts this much to just like someone?" Sakura cried out.

"Hey Sakura..I hate to say it but I don't think this is just 'liking' someone. If you're feeling this strongly about someone..if it surpasses how you felt about Sasuke before, I think you're in love with Hinata." Ino said calmly as she pat Sakura's head with a slight smile.

"I-I'm in love with her?.." Sakura looked at Ino with surprised eyes. "Heh..you knew I was in love even before I was" Sakura smiled briefly but then frowned again, "It's no use though. Hinata said it herself, we can't be together.." Sakura smiled sorrowfully and closed her eyes.

After a few minutes of silence both Ino and Sakura stood up and began to head for the door. Sakura's eyes sharpened and she whipped out her kunai, deflecting shuriken that had been flung towards her. Ino was taken by surprise by this but noticed something dripping from the shuriken that had stuck into the wall, she narrowed her eyes and analyzed it.  
But then her eyes widened as she began to sweat realizing what the substance was.

Poison.

The poison that dripped onto a nearby chair disintegrated part of the wood. Ino turned to Sakura quickly and yelled to her friend, "Sakura! Watch out there's poison coated onto those shurikens that melts whatever it touches!"

But her warning was too late as bigger, more lethal shurikens were flung at Sakura just as she had deflected the other ones. They spun and swerved into Sakura's blind spot tearing through her top and piercing into her mid-section, causing Sakura to gasp in pain as blood started to drip from her mouth.

"Guh..t-this poison is acting fast. But there's no mistaking it, it's basically the same as the one the medical team encountered. This is the same guy that attacked Hinata!" Sakura thought. Rage began boiling inside of Sakura's body, causing a wisp of green chakra to emanate from her.

The attacker jumped back onto another roof and smirked, twirling a kunai around his finger as he grasped the handle, ready to strike. He threw several kunai with explosive tags attached to the window opening and jumped back several more rooftops.

"INO GET OUT!" Sakura yelled. Both Sakura and Ino had jumped out in time onto the nearest roof. Unfortunately Sakura had been caught in a small bit of the explosion as she made her jump, causing her entire left leg to be injured. "Guh Ino..a-alert Tsunade-sama of the situation. I'm going after this bastard" Sakura said as she managed to pick herself up and glare at the attacker who was jumping away.

"But Sakura you're injured!" Ino cried out, frightened at the chakra that was now leaking out more from Sakura's body.

"Ino just DO IT! I don't have much time but I'm getting this guy!" Sakura swore as she wiped the blood from her mouth, the green chakra growing bigger and more intense, "Shit..this poison is worse than the one used on Hinata. It's going into affect sooner than I thought.." She thought as she pursued the assailant. Her eyes narrowed as the green chakra now took on a sharp tail shape. Unaware of the unusual chakra that was surrounding her, Sakura's rage began surfacing, causing the tail to dig into and destroy the rooftop she was on as she chased after the mysterious ninja that jumped into the forest.


	3. Chapter 3: Recuperation

Sakura's body was already starting to shut down. The poison was taking a toll on her since she pushed herself to go after the attacker and because of that, her exhaustion combined with anger tapped into an unknown chakra reserve inside her. The further the mysterious ninja got the more frustrated Sakura became. Her vision was starting to blur as she leapt from tree to tree, seeming to never get any closer to the person she was chasing. Sakura's left arm covered her stomach where the shuriken had torn, still trying to heal herself. The assailant seemed to be toying with her, looking back with a smirk while his chuckling could be heard clearly.

Sakura stopped on a tree, kneeling down as she began to cough up blood. Her right fist punched the tree branch which she stood on so intensely it began to crack and break, "You..why did you attack me? Why did you hurt Hinata?" yelled Sakura as the green chakra that had appeared now turned from a tail shape to a demonic claw, rushing towards the attacker. By this point Sakura had lost all control as her eyes turned a burning forest green, her once shining jade green eyes gone. Sakura lurched foward behind the claw that was barreling down on her prey only to find smoke and a small note stuck to the tree trunk.

"Hehe..you're so pathetic. I won't even spend time on actually confronting you. You're a waste of time to me. Don't get me wrong, I'll enjoy finishing this. We'll meet again soon..Sakura Haruno" read the note as it burned up.

Sakura's rage had completely taken control at this point, her fists clenched so tight as she leapt high off the tree and cranked her arm back ready to strike. Sakura ignored her prior injuries and slung her arm foward, descending fast upon the ground yelling rather savagely, "GRAAGHH YOU FUCKING BASTARD!"  
Sakura crashed so hard into the ground it created a crater at least fifteen feet wide all the way around, her knuckles scratched, bloody, and covered in dirt. After the rubble had settled down into the many crevices of the crater the green chakra disappeared from sight and Sakura collapsed, desperately trying to keep her eyes open until someone, or rather , IF someone found her. It was no use, her eyelids were so heavy they dropped and the last thing she heard was the faint commotion of ninja and her mentor yelling her name as she found her student's body among the debris.

"Why...why do I go to such lengths for Hinata? Ino can't be right..I can't be in love with Hinata. But why am I so upset over this guy who attacked her? Just a few years ago I only knew her by name, I didn't REALLY know her. A-and she doesn't even want to be with me..Why am I feeling this now?  
It's unusual..but her beautiful pale eyes, her lovely deep colored hair, her adorable shyness, her bod-..Ah guess I'm.." Sakura's own train of thought was getting more faint, "about to..pass...out."

Tsunade leapt down into the crater along with a small team of ninja, rushing like never before to Sakura's side and began to attempt to heal the wounds all over. Her immediate attention went to the wound on Sakura's stomach, which worried her the most.

"Hey someone get me a stretcher now! We have absolutely NO time to waste!" Tsunade ordered. She unzipped Sakura's top and tried to search for any other injuries but noticed strange markings that alternated in opacity on her midsection reading "Forgotten." Tsunade decided to look into it once Sakura was completely healed, worrying that something much bigger was amiss. Once a stretcher was brought to Sakura's location, she was carried back to the village which happened to not be too far away. Tsunade walked a little behind the team with her assisstant Shizune next to her, deep in thought, "Those markings on Sakura's stomach are not normal. 'Forgotten' sounds familiar..." Tsunade's eyes widened as it came into realization, "It can't be! The dark green markings, the strange hole created in a house in the village, and the inhuman power from the crater.. T-the 'Forgotten Bijuu'! I've heard about it but never thought it would be the inhabitant of my own student.." Tsunade rested her forehead on her hand as they neared the village gates, heading towards the Hokage's mansion for special treatment.

~Hokage mansion~ The only ones in the treatment room were Tsunade and her loyal friend/assisstant Shizune. The two began preparing the treatment when Shizune looked towards Tsunade as she was pinning her hair up, "Tsunade-sama, how come it's just us two treating Sakura-san?" Shizune had arched her brow with a smirk, "Ahh I get it! You just wanted to be alone with me didn't ya Tsu-na-de~?" Shizune nudged Tsunade playfully. When Tsunade and Shizune are alone, Shizune acts more like herself around her.

Tsunade blushed and pouted, pushing Shizune towards the table where Sakura lie, "Now now Shizune save that for later, we have more important things to attend to. The reason why I requested that it just be us two treating Sakura is because I found something peculiar when I checked Sakura's wounds when she was first found." Tsunade lifted the blanket covering Sakura's body from the chest down and motioned towards her stomach to the almost completely vanished mark, "You see that strange marking on Sakura's mid-section? It reads 'Forgotten', something that shouldn't involve Sakura but does. Something very dangerous" Tsunade proceeded to unravel the bandages covering Sakura's wounds, beginning the healing process, " It refers to the Forest Dragon. I've read about it..A bijuu that has only appeared two other times in Konoha's history. There is only one record of this bijuu and it says the bijuu known as the 'Forest Dragon' was said to have existed long before the other nine bijuu. The Sage of Six Paths was unaware of it's existence because with its' abilities, it can camoflauge and sometimes disappear into thin air.  
Many groups of ninja before us have tried to tame this bijuu but have failed due to its ability to virtually erase its existance and the powers it gives to it's jinchuuriki, one of them being supernatural strength. Its skills are unknown but one thing is certain: Sakura's family is the only family that the bijuu has been taking a host in. First it was her great great grandfather, then her great grandmother, now Sakura herself. It's not known why but the fact that it now has chosen Sakura as its jinchuuriki makes her life much harder. " Tsunade raised her brow and took a closer look, "Ah.. the marking is gone. That means Sakura has full control again...if it had stayed dark green it would have caused more damage to her body since the bijuu would have been in control."

"Tsunade..how are you sure that she's the jinchuuriki?" Shizune questioned with a frown.

"Ino told me when her and Sakura first got attacked, she saw green chakra coming from Sakura's body. Shizune, NO form of chakra is green except medical jutsus and the Forest Dragon. No medical ninjutsu uses green chakra with such force." Tsunade said grimly.

"Tsunade-sama.. is that true?" Sakura weakily said as she opened her eyes, full of exhaust and pain. She sat up and looked at Tsunade dully who nodded in response, "I see..." Sakura lowered her and turned around so her legs hung over the edge of the bed, looking at her left cast-covered leg as she sighed quietely. Sakura looked towards a nearby window and asked with a sullen tone, "Hey Tsunade-sama is it alright if I go outside for some fresh air?" Sakura looked at her midsection dully, the marking gone completely.

"Go ahead Sakura but don't over work yourself, you aren't completely healed yet. Take it easy." Tsunade replied as she left with Shizune, looking over some papers. "Be careful Sakura, whoever attacked you is serious about killing you. Don't broadcast your condition because it'll just make things more complicated." Tsunade tossed a bracelet of some kind with tags on it behind her and onto Sakura's lap, "Wear that. If anything wrong goes on just tear off one of those tags and I'll know. See you Sakura."

With that Tsunade stepped over the threshold when Sakura spoke up, "Tsunade-sama, have you ever...fallen in love?" she asked as she looked out the window.

Tsunade stopped in her tracks and spoke softly, "...I have. But it's not like she'd ever return my feelings" She looked at Shizune who was in front of her in the corridor and sighed, closing the door behind her.

Sakura slipped on the bracelet and put on a loose top, grabbing the crutches left leaning against the bed as she made her way towards a door that led to a balcony outside. She went over to the railing and leaned her arms on it, resting her head on her forearms as she stared out onto the village sky. "So I'm a jinchuuriki huh? This certainly changes a lot of things..I'm going to be targetted by many other people now. I guess I'm just like Naruto now haha. Nobody'll want to be around me anymore...maybe not even Hinat- Gah what am I saying! I can't keep dragging myself down because of this. I have to respect..Hinata's decision."

Sakura was about to close her eyes when she heard Ino calling her from the ground, "Heeeey Sakuraaa! Mind if I come up?" Sakura smiled and motioned with her hand to come up. Ino jumped onto several higher rooftops and landed right on the railing, "Here, a little pick-me-up. I thought you might be hungry after all that's happened so I got you some syrup-covered anko dumplings!" Ino smiled as she held a small container towards Sakura.

Sakura smiled slightly and took the container from her, looking back into the sky," Y'know Ino. I've been thinking about this situation, I could have avoided this if I just stayed put like you told me to. Hinata shouldn't even be..important to me." Sakura smiled with sadness in her eyes. "Wouldn't it be ok if I disappeared from her life? I mean there are other fish in the sea she deserves someone who she actually has feelings for." Sakura looked at Ino, trying to laugh off the pain in her face.

"Sakura..." Ino thought to herself as Sakura continued to talk with a masking smile, "You're doing all this for her aren't you? You really do care about her that much. Jealous of you Sakura, you found someone to love again after Sasuke. I just don't like what this situation has done to you. Your smiles are...so sad." Ino frowned as she pat Sakura's head, "Let's take your mind off this! Let's walk around the village." Ino smiled warmly as she led Sakura downstairs.

Sakura simply smiled and made her way through the village with Ino, having a fun conversation with Ino. The pair later met up with Shikamaru and Choji, waving to them both as they all went to the lake to relax in the shade. Choji kept snacking on chips while Shikamaru joked around with him saying that he should stop snacking so much. Sakura and Ino sat down on a nearby smooth rock, reminiscing about their childhood and how they called each other silly nicknames.  
Sakura splashed water at Ino after she had called her Billboard Brow, laughing as she narrowly avoided Ino's big wave of water in attempt to get back at her.

"Beeeh! Ino pig nice try haha!" Sakura chuckled as she noticed something out the corner of her eye. She avoided eye contact, trying as hard as she could to pretend she didn't see Hinata walking by. Oblivious, Ino called her over which made Sakura tense up, "Ino pig...baka!" she thought. "A-ah Ino! I f-forgot I had to go to something for Tsunade-sama. I'll see you later!" Sakura said in a clear attempt to avoid Hinata. Ino looked at her with a frown and sighed, knowing what Sakura was trying to do. Sakura got up and propped herself up on her crutches, making her way in the opposite direction of Hinata in such a hurry she forgot to be careful and tripped on a rock causing her to fall. "Crap..why'd I have to trip now?" Sakura groaned as she got back up and muttered to herself as she continued back to the village.

The only ones looking at her were Ino and Hinata, who had just gotten to where Ino was. Hinata gazed in Sakura's direction for a while and squinted, her eyes looking at her with silence, "Sakura-san..."

~In the village~

Sakura was wandering the village when she ran into Sasuke, who had run up to her with a worried expression,"Oi Sakura have you seen Naruto?"

"Sasuke-kun I thought he was with you?" Sakura questioned.

"Tch...guess you haven't. I was with Naruto up until a few hours ago but it turns out he was just a shadow clone. I was under strict orders from Tsunade-sama to watch over him because he's been acting strangely ever since he got back. And he- Sakura what happened to you?" Sasuke asked as he noticed her crutches and the bandages over her stomach.

"Ah nothing important Sasuke-kun. It's just I got done over by this prick who first attacked Hinata then he attacked me. His poison and the power of his explosive tags are none I've encountered before so yeah...The poison took quite a toll on my body haha. I tried to get him but the bastard slipped away." Sakura joked as she clenched the support handle of her crutches. "Because of what he did...I'll never forgive him." she scowled.

"Eh? What did this guy do exactly?" Sasuke raised his brow as he asked.

"Well...after I found Hinata when she ran away from Naruto, we talked for a bit and I consoled her." Sakura frowned which made Sasuke even more curious, "B-before I knew it, someone had thrown a poison-coated kunai at Hinata." Sakura smiled slightly as she scratched her cheek, trying to laugh off the bad memory.

"Sakura are you sure you're going to be ok?" Sasuke furrowed his brow as he pat Sakura's shoulder.

Sakura nodded slowly as she walked with Sasuke in search of Naruto. The both of them looked at many places in hopes to find the missing ninja, but with no luck they were unable to find him. "Something's up with Naruto. He acts so coldly to Hinata and he disappears from sight, no one knowing of his whereabouts. I have a bad feeling about this.." Sakura thought.

Sasuke and Sakura were halfway to Yakiniku Q when they were noticed Ino, Hinata, Shikamaru, and Choji ten feet in front of them. Sakura stopped in her tracks and looked at the small group ahead of her, causing Sasuke to stop two feet in front of her and look back unaware of the situation.

"Hey Sakur-" Sasuke got a better look at Sakura's face and arched his eyebrows, recognizing the expression he saw on Sakura's face. "That look...that's the look Sakura gave me when she was in love with me. Who is she looking...?" Sasuke's thoughts trailed off as he turned his head from Sakura's line of vision, looking straight at Hinata, "Ah..that's who she's looking at." Sasuke had turned his head halfway back towards Sakura when he noticed Hinata's eyes fixated on Sakura, looking back with a sad expression. "Hooo?...I guess things are more complicated than I thought." Sasuke turned to Sakura and pat her head, ruffling her hair slightly, "Oi Sakura, I think you should just tell her how you feel."

Sakura looked at Sasuke with a spaced out look, slowly tuning back into her friend's question, "Eh?" she said quietly.

"Look...I can tell by how you two are looking at each other. You're looking at Hinata the same way you used to look at me, but with more attention and how can I say...pain? She probably doesn't realize how much you care for her even if you told her already. I'll give you some time alone with her." Sasuke said as he walked over to Ino, talking to her.

After a while, Ino looked over Sasuke's shoulder at Sakura for a while before she turned her head slightly, saying something to Hinata. She then lead Choji, Shikamaru, and Sasuke into the restaurant leaving Sakura and Hinata alone outside. Sakura sat herself down on a bench a few feet away from the opening of the restaurant, looking in Hinata's direction as she leaned her crutches on the wall. Hinata blushed and sauntered to the bench, looking with a much more timid expression as she sat down.  
"Listen Hinata I've been meaning to talk to you..." Sakura said calmy as she looked into Hinata's eyes with no discernable expression, "I've been thinking about a lot of stuff. I keep wondering 'Why am I trying so hard?' or 'How come I'm so stressed over this?' over and over again. I was still confused even before the drama with Naruto happened. I've been talking to Ino and Sasuke, they say it's not unusual to feel this way...this particular way when.." Sakura's voice trailed off as she clutched her chest, tears streaming down her face and her mouth closed shut trying to surpress crying. She took a deep breath and let go of her chest, placing her hand on Hinata's lap, "Even as I am now..a jinchuuriki" Sakura smiled bitterly as she gripped Hinata's hand, causing Hinata's eyes to widen as she stared at Sakura who continued, "Even if you don't love me, a monster...they say it's not unusual to feel this way when you're in love with someone."

Sakura let Hinata's hand go and got up, picking up her crutches as she made her way into the restaurant. Something resonated inside Hinata. Something that made her grab Sakura's arm and pull her aside, "Sakura-san don't you have to check up on your injury? You've been moving quite a lot since you got out."

"Hinata what're you-" Sakura stopped as she caught a look in Hinata's eye, a look saying she should listen."Ah.. that's right I really should. Oi Ino! Sasuke! I'm heading back to Tsunade-sama to have her check my wounds. Here, food's on me this time!" Sakura said as she left money on her friend's table and headed out back to see Tsunade, with Hinata walking silently next to her.

~Hokage mansion~

"Tsunade-samaaa!" Sakura called as she entered Tsunade's office, "I was wondering if you could take a look at my wounds and see if they've improved?"Tsunade nodded and took Sakura along with Hinata down the hall to a hospital room. Sakura sat up on the bed and proceeded to unbutton her shirt when she asked, "Uhm Tsunade-sama..is it alright if Hinata stays in the room?"

Tsunade looked up from her first-aid supplies and said, "Sure. If you'd please lay down so I can check..." Sakura laid down and closed her eyes, breathing in and out slowly but relaxed. Tsunade began to unravel Sakura's bandages when she noticed, "Wow..Sakura's injuries are completely healed! Her chakra flow is much more accelerated than before. Her situation is just like Naruto's. The chakra of the bijuu inside must be speeding up the healing process. Sakura's stomach area and leg are completely healed in only a matter of hours." she thought. Tsunade took away the bandages from Sakura's mid-section as well as the cast on her leg, smiling, "Sakura you're completely fine now. Just make sure you don't push yourself anymore like you did to get yourself here in the first place!" Tsunade scolded as she left the room to just her student and Hinata.

"Phew! What a relief haha..I was worried it hadn't gotten better." Sakura laughed as she hopped off the table and turned around to change back into her clothes, "Sorry that I made you wait Hinata. Just wanted to make sure you knew I was going to be ok!"

Sakura smiled as she took the loose shirt and dropped it below her shoulders. Hinata quietly got up from her chair and quickly wrapped her arms around Sakura's half exposed body, holding her close from behind. "Sakura-chan..."

"S-sakura-chan?..." Sakura thought as she turned her head sideways, looking at Hinata with a surprised face.

"Ino-san told me what you did to have this injury inflicted upon you. I have to admit at first I didn't understand why you did it. Why you went to such lengths for me was beyond my understanding..." Hinata said as she held her hands locked together across Sakura's stomach, brushing her gently hands against Sakura's soft skin. "I thought...like Naruto-kun had said 'Who would want to care for someone like me? So weak and pathetic.' I didn't think someone could ever care about me to such an extent.  
But..when you told me you're in love with me, it all started to make sense to me. That kiss at the lake wasn't just anything...it meant something more." Hinata buried her face into Sakura's back and spoke even more gently, " This whole time I've been in love with the wrong person. Someone who didn't even notice my feelings, let alone crush them with such cruelty. But I realize that now, Sakura-chan, I'm in love with the right person this time...this person has done so much for the sake of my benefit" Hinata said as she blushed and buried her face into Sakura's back more, her soft indigo hair brushing against Sakura's bare skin.  
" It doesn't matter who you are, I'm in love with you Sakura-chan..I want to be with you"

A strong wind blew through the room, filling it with the fluttering of curtains that lined the open window. Sakura stood still, not believing what she had just heard. Tears were running down Sakura's cheek as she turned around to face Hinata, "H-hinata..how do I know you're telling..the truth?" Sakura sniffled as she began crying, covering her face trying to wipe the tears from her eyes.


	4. Chapter 4: Disillusioned

The tears just kept stinging. Sakura couldn't hold back the emotion that choked her throat. Hinata couldn't help but stand there astounded at the sight that was presented before her. The headstrong Sakura Haruno was in tears and her eyes puffed up with her mouth quivering as she held back the cry that persisted in being let out. Rather cold wind circulated throughout the room as Sakura took a step back, hanging her head down as she clutched the loose shirt in her hand and held it close to her body. Sakura's once bright shining eyes had now become a dull green, her arms trembling as she fumbled with her clothing trying to get it back on her.

When Sakura looked back at Hinata she couldn't help but say in a sullen tone, "Hinata..how can you say this?" Sakura smiled sorrowfully and glanced at Hinata under her swollen eyes, "T-this isn't funny. This..this is a joke right?" she said in a somewhat frightened way.

Hinata stepped closer to Sakura, causing her to back away a bit more. Hinata frowned and said, "What are you talking about Sakura-chan? I meant every word I said." Hinata clutched her arm and smiled with a blush, "It isn't a joke."

Sakura finished dressing and placed her hand on the table in front of her, clenching her fist tight. It was evident that she was trying to keep her composure as much as possible, softly speaking," Hinata, your acting isn't fooling me. I remember what you said in the hospital. I've been talking to Ino about it. She keeps saying I'm in love with you and I accept that. But what gets me is why do you suddenly change what you said? You've been in love with Naruto all these years. And he had to be a complete _baka_ and say that crap to you. How can you get over him that fast! You may think that kiss at the lake was just a fluke but it meant something to me!" Sakura said in an elevated volume as she walked to the window, an almost inaudible whimper escaping her lips.

Hinata stood there gazing at Sakura with her hand gripping the side of her jacket, unable to contain the emotion that was tugging at her heart strings, "Sakura-chan why are you saying these things?! I really do love you. Why can't you see that!" Hinata yelled as she clasped her hand over her mouth, surprised at the volume at which she just spoke that no one had made her do before.

Sakura quickly turned herself around and yelled with a much clearer tone of agony, "You _aho_! I don't like being lied to! Things like this don't happen unless there is a reason behind it!" Sakura exclaimed as she cringed, her mouth configured in such a way that hinted at the pain she was trying to fight back with tears falling down her cheeks constantly, "I…I!.." Sakura could barely speak as her sadness forbade her from remaining dry-eyed, "I hate people who lie to themselves!" Sakura cried as she wiped her eyes with her forearm, running out onto the balcony she jumped high into the sky and put two fingers into her mouth, whistling loudly as her giant wolf companion, Fenris, brought her up on his back. Sakura disappeared into the horizon of the vast village, leaving Hinata in the treatment room alone and confused.

-Hyuuga compound—

Hinata walked into her home's courtyard, distracted more than usual, "I'm home!" she called out, not knowing if anyone was home.

"Ah Hinata-sama I've been waiting for you." Said Neji, who walked out from the entrance to the main house.

"Neji-kun?" Hinata said dreamily as she blinked her eyes, trying to focus on her surroundings.

"Hanabi-san let me in. I've been meaning to check up on you ever since that scuffle with Naruto happened." Neji explained as he sat on the front porch, patting the spot next to him.

"I'm fine Neji-kun. I'm just a little..confused at the situation at hand right now." Hinata sighed as she buried her face into both her hands, resting her elbows on her legs.

Neji raised his brow and tilted his head, "Confused? About what Hinata-sama?" he inquired.

Hinata looked at the pond in her front yard, kicking up the grass a little as she frowned," I just don't understand. After what happened with Naruto, Sakura-san came to my side and comforted me. After you visited me in the hospital Sakura-san came by. I said something that hurt her…I said we couldn't be more than friends and it was too soon after what happened with Naruto and I didn't know what I was doing. But Sakura-san got injured later pursuing the person who attacked me. I met her again while heading to Yakiniku Q with Ino-san and the others. Sakura-san had confessed to being in love with me. It…it stirred something inside me." Hinata said solemnly.

"Oh? What's the problem then Hinata-sama? From what you've told me..maybe you two feel the same way about each other." Neji attempted to deduce as he looked back at Hinata.

"That's not the whole story. After Tsunade-sama had finished checking Sakura-san's injuries, I confessed to Sakura-san. I do love her…I think. But she said 'I hate people who lie to themselves!' and ran away crying…That's what confuses me Neji-kun." Hinata furrowed her brow and rested her forehead on her hands, exhaling rather loudly. "I just don't get it.."

Neji frowned and crossed his arms saying calmly, "Well Hinata-sama, the way I see it: Sakura-san genuinely fell for you, perhaps almost died fighting to get revenge on this guy, got hurt from what you said, but feels like her hopes are being brought up by what you told her. I mean looking at it from Sakura-san's point of view, it's possible she thinks that you're just confessing to pacify the turmoil that's going on inside her. Also, I hate to be the one to say this but I think you're trying to convince yourself that you 'love' her when it could just be great admiration."

"Oh…" Hinata lowered her head, speaking in a much quieter voice, "Sakura-san looked so pained when she ran away…as if some disease was eating away at her heart. But I'm responsible for it huh? I don't know what to do!" Hinata rested her head on her hands and breathed in and out slowly, a gloomy disposition evident in the atmosphere.

"Perhaps sometime down the road you can come to love Sakura-san. Getting along with each other brings friendship and with friendship comes respect. But later on respect can turn into endearment, ultimately evolving into love whether it be just as friends or partners. So either way if Sakura-san feels the way I think she does, she'd be happy just being with you and your smile." Neji smiled as he pat Hinata's back. Getting up he dusted off his backside and turned his head sideways, speaking quietly, "By the way Hinata-sama. Be careful. I don't know what this mysterious attacker is after but he has extensive knowledge of the village layout as well as your abilities. I noticed that he attacked you from the back instead of the front. If he had done so from the front he would be exposed to your Byakugan, so he was well aware of your blind spot." Neji walked onto the stone pavement and headed down the street, seeming more alert than usual.

In her office, Tsunade ruffled through some documents, bringing up her head when she heard knocking at her door. In came an unidentified ninja, smiling at Tsunade.

"Ah you're finally here. I had hoped to see you soon." Tsunade said as she folded her arms across her desk, looking sternly at the ninja. "I trust you will be able to handle this situation accordingly?"

The ninja chuckled and placed their hand over their chest bowing, "Why of course Tsunade-hime. I wouldn't dare let you down. I didn't come out of 'there' for nothing." The ninja smirked and left the office, the jingle of a necklace heard.

-Practice field—

_Pound. Pound.._Sakura idly wandered around the practice field punching trees repetitively as the noise she caused got louder and louder. She was so distracted she didn't notice Ino sitting there for a good five minutes.

"Sakuuraaa.." Ino casually said, her eyes giving Sakura a 'what the hell are you doing' look.

Sakura turned around with her eyes half-lidded, tilting her head slightly, "Ah Ino. Hi…"

Ino furrowed her brow and got up, walking sternly towards Sakura, "Sakura what's the deal? I find you here punching trees and don't notice me that whole time. You've punched almost every tree in half!" Ino says irritated, putting her hands on her hips.

Sakura lowered her eyes and slumped against a nearby broken stump. She sighed and told Ino everything that happened. Her voice got quieter and quieter as she got towards the end of her tale, sadness spreading across her face.

Ino sighed and put her hand on her forehead," Y'know Sakura, sometimes you just have to let things go. Kind of like what you did with Sasuke? But I have a bad feeling this might take a few years to get over like it did when you loved Sasuke." Ino joked in attempt to cheer her up, which ended up in failure. "Come on Sakura, how about we just go for some good ol' karaoke with some of our friends? Let's get your mind off this!"

Sakura looked back at Ino and smiled, feeling happy about what her friend was trying to do. The two girls were chatting away as they got up to leave when they heard some rustling grass behind them. Alert, both drew kunais instantly and turned around prepared darting their eyes back and forth across the practice field.

Behind them was an attractive young woman of about 18. Her hair was a dark brown with dark red highlights, her hair layered beautifully with her bangs almost covering her eyes. The wind blew a gentle breeze, revealing under her bangs a pair of crimson-shaded eyes, seemingly smiling at the two girls in front of her. Her beautiful frame was accentuated by the sash that was drawn over her hip, tied on one end, showing just above her knee and below. Fastened across the woman's shorts was a belt of some sorts decorated with studs and a weapon holder, whose contents could not be determined. Over her torso she wore a sleeveless red jacket unzipped and an ornately designed black top underneath, revealing a bit of cleavage. Skin that was shown from uncovered areas of her clothes was a light tan color, her exposed midsection having a small tattoo-like image depicting a blooming red rose. Her shoes were not the standard ninja-issued style. She wore black boots that went halfway up her calves, belted at the bottom around the ankles with red buckles. Around her neck dangled a crimson necklace, beautifully carved into a rose shape with a thin cobalt gem in the center of it.

The woman's lips parted and out came an alluring feminine voice, "Haha..I see you haven't changed at all Ino!" She playfully said as she covered her mouth with her hand, "I can't believe you didn't recognize my presence. I thought we'd been close enough by now.." She said with fake disappointment, smirking under her hand.

"Ah?" Ino lowered her kunai and stood back up, raising her brow as she recognized her old companion. "Erie!" She flung her arms around Erie and giggled, looking up at her, "How've you been! I didn't know you were visiting. You've gotten taller…" Ino pouted in a somewhat childish way.

"Ino…who is this-" Sakura spoke as she looked right into Erie's eyes which gave a little glint as Erie smiled right at Sakura, "This..v-very beautiful person?.." Her voice trailed off as she stepped back a few feet, feeling her face heat up._"W-what's going on?!..."_ Sakura thought.

Ino looked at Sakura then Erie, confused."Oh sorry! This is my good friend Erie Kaza. She's not from around here." Ino smiled and turned to Erie, "Erie, this is my childhood friend Sakura Haruno!"

Erie grinned and sauntered over to Sakura, looking deeper into her eyes, "Why hello there Sakura. It's such a.." Erie leaned in so her chin was just above Sakura's shoulder, whispering into her ear, "_pleasure_ to meet you."

That one word sent an unusual surge through Sakura's body, making her body feel paralyzed. Her eyes were in a trance, locked in sight with Erie's. It wasn't some sort of attracted feeling, but a force unknown to Sakura. It felt like her body was made rigid, as if turned to stone.

Erie blinked and smiled at Sakura. She stepped back and held up her right hand, snapping her fingers that caused the sound to resonate inside Sakura returning her body to its' normal state.

"Eh?" Sakura was still dazed from what happened, confused more than ever now. "What..what was that Erie-san?" She looked towards Erie, raising her eyebrow in suspicion. "Was that the Sharingan?"

Erie giggled and pat Sakura's shoulder, "Oh no no Sakura! It's just one of my…_talents_ I guess you could say. But don't worry I didn't do anything bad to you. I'm actually here on order of Hokage-san. So I wouldn't do anything inappropriate to her student."

"T-tsunade-sama ordered you here? What for?" Sakura asked surprised.

"Oh it's a secret! So anyway what have I missed Ino?" Erie smiled as she put her arm around Ino's shoulder.

"Actually Erie…you came at a bad time. You see uhm-" Ino stopped and looked to Sakura," Sakura would you rather me not say anything?"

Sakura shook her head and smiled, "No no! Don't worry about me. Go ahead and tell Erie-san. It's not like it's a secret or anything."

Ino frowned slightly and turned back to Erie, "Well alright. Erie what happened was…" Ino proceeded to tell Erie what had happened, start to finish. Erie's face showed concern as she looked to Sakura, then back to Ino, nodding as the story went along.

"Well..I agree that we should try to help Sakura distract her from this whole ordeal! We should go do this uhm..karaoke thing! I'd like to see what it is." Erie smiled as she got the two girls up, walking with them arm in arm back towards the village.

-Konoha village streets-

With Sasuke finally having found Naruto, both of them were chatting away as they met up with Hinata, Neji, and Kiba. Hinata avoided eye contact with Naruto and just stood amidst the noisy group with Naruto acting like nothing happened at all.

Hinata separated from her group and shuffled slowly towards Sasuke who was watching Naruto from a distance chatting with Kiba. Hinata fumbled with her hands and spoke in her usually quiet voice, "S-so Sasuke-san.."

"Hm?" Sasuke turned his head, his left arm draped over the blade of his katana. "What's up Hinata?"

Hinata continued to keep her head down, slowly bringing it up as she casually spoke, "So uhm…have you finished reading that English codex I lent you?" She asked.

"Ah. Yea I have. It will prove useful in the future." Sasuke scratched the back of his head and leaned back, sighing, "Well I read some other books from the Hokage that mentioned combinations of hand seals and certain English words. Most of them said that when initiated, these combinations are similar to various ninja skills."

"I s-.." Hinata stopped as she looked ahead, looking straight ahead of her. Her eyes widened as she felt her mouth drop a little. Walking down the street was the Ino-Saku-Erie group, laughing away as they neared the entrance to the karaoke bar. "I..see." Hinata finished.

Sasuke looked at Hinata and raised his brow, "Hey Hinata, you alright?" he asked. He stopped himself from saying something else when he looked at Hinata's eyes, "_That look…" _Sasuke followed Hinata's line of sight to Sakura, turning back scanning Hinata's face, _"Heh..her too huh?"_ The expression that was on Hinata's face depicted admiration, happiness, and love.

"_Sakura-chan.."_ Hinata repeated in her mind. "_Hehe there she is. Under that tough looking exterior is such a fragile girl. She's so…so amazing." _Hinata smiled as she thought to herself, tuning back into the world around her when she felt Sasuke gently nudging her arm. "E-eh? What is it Sasuke-san?"

"Why don't you go talk to her Hinata?" Sasuke said as he subtly pushed her forward with his hand.

Hinata widened her eyes then gradually lowered them, "It…it's complicated. You see uhm.." Hinata trailed off as she told the issue at hand as well as what Neji had told her earlier.

"Ah..so that's what's going on. Well.." Sasuke glanced over to Sakura who was now looking at Hinata, who had turned her head away. As he and Hinata began walking towards the group he saw a sorrowful smile spread across Sakura's lips. "And it seems it's affecting her too." Sasuke took a moment to think, crossing his arms as he began speaking again in a somewhat hushed tone, "Hinata, what Neji said is true except for one thing. That great admiration he mentioned…I'm pretty sure it's changed y'know? I saw that look you had." Sasuke smiled and turned his head back to Hinata, "It's the same way Sakura used to look at me. I'm thinking you've actually fallen for her, but from the sudden change Sakura doesn't believe it."

"Do you think I'm actually in love with Sakura-san?" Hinata questioned as she tilted her head slightly while looking at Sasuke.

"Well I can't say take my word for it. Only time and your own feelings will tell. Let's bring this up another time shall we? We have people waiting for us." Sasuke smiled as he and Hinata reached the group, Hinata glancing over to Sakura quite often.

Naruto's eyes almost instantly darted up and down Erie, his stare getting more intense as a somewhat grin spread across his face, "Sooo who's this hot babe here?" he questioned as he strut over in Erie's direction.

Erie raised her brow and slightly turned her head looking at Ino who gave her a subtle nod. She turned her eyes towards Naruto, who was now only three feet in front of her, "Oh me? Oh come on I'm not hot!" she said as she waved her hand shyly.

"Oh come on! You should appreciate your beauty. I know I do..." Naruto replied as he winked and stepped a foot closer.

By this time Sakura and Ino, who were still beside Erie, were hiding signs of disgust as they looked at each other. "_You've got to be kidding me right?" _looks were being exchanged between the two.

"Oh you..stop it you silly boy!" Erie giggled as she drew her right arm across over to her left arm. As Naruto stepped closer and closer, the grip that Erie had on her left arm grew tighter which both Sakura and Ino noticed.

"Hey would you two get out of the way?!" Naruto said sharply as he glared at Sakura, who was chatting with Ino. "You pigs are ruining the atmosphere for me and this…beautiful gem." Naruto snorted, looking at Erie.

"What was that _baka_ Uzumaki?!" Ino retorted.

Ino stepped forward but was stopped by Erie's left arm, a dimly glowing insignia tattooed on the backside of her forearm. "Ino now is not the time to ruin this nice day with violence." Erie turned her head slightly to look at ino, giving her a slight smile.

Hearing this, Naruto grew more smug and smirked as he laughed to himself, "Haaahaahaha! Serves ya right!"

Erie turned her head to face Naruto, smiling as she glared with much intensity, "Besides Ino…I'd never go out with a _swine_ like him who insults such fine young ladies and hurts them. You know me better than that…" Erie calmy said as her gaze direct in Naruto's eyes became more intense.

Naruto's eyes were locked with Erie's eyes. The village seemed to blur and smudge around him, losing sight. Erie's deep crimson eyes seemed to glow a bit, her eyes piercing through him. Naruto staggered back a bit, widening his eyes as he remained bewildered.

"Also…" Erie's voice echoed through the realm Naruto seemed to be trapped in. "He looks like he's about to.." All Naruto could see was the face that now seemed to haunt him grinning, "_fall asleep._"

With those words Naruto lost consciousness and collapsed. Everyone was unaware of the cause of his collapse. Sasuke volunteered to take Naruto to be looked at, carrying him over his shoulder and walking into the bustle of the crowd, disappearing from sight. Everyone decided to continue with the karaoke plans, walking inside the building. Drinks and snacks were ordered as everyone sat down, relaxed.

Once the refreshments had arrived Sakura immediately drank two glasses of oolong tea, smiling with satisfaction as she wiped her mouth, "Man that hit the spot! I was so thirsty." Sakura leaned back against the lounge chair and hiccupped, her facing growing a nice shade of red. She began giggling and got up, dancing as she twirled around the room.

"What's up with Sakura? She isn't usually like th-" Ino stopped and eyed the glasses that Sakura had just emptied. She picked one of them up and sniffed it, groaning as she put it back down, "Gah..I thought I ordered the non-alcoholic tea. This could be trouble." She slumped back into her seat and sipped some water, watching Sakura.

Erie sipped some of the tea and grinned, "Ohhh someone's gonna get drunk~" she laughed as she put down the glass, picking up a can of soda.

"H-hey Inooo! Letsh shing sometinggg!" Sakura slurred as she pulled Ino up out of her seat and onto the small platform in the room.

"O-oy Sakura not so hard!" Ino complained as she tried to pry her arm from Sakura's grip.

As the commotion from the two girls filled the room, Hinata quietly sipped her drink looking at Sakura longingly. She stopped and looked down at her cup, slowly rubbing the outside as she went into deep thought. When she heard music she picked up her head and looked towards the stage, seeing Sakura with her eyes closed gripping the microphone tightly as she breathed in and out slowly. Sakura opened her eyes and began singing _Your Guardian Angel _by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, seeming to breathe more passion into every stanza.

"_This song..it's English right?" _Hinata wondered as she began listening to the words closely. _"__When I see your smile..tears run down my face. __This song.." _Hinata looked at Sakura, set aback by the feelings she was getting from the passion that she put into singing this song.

Sakura had shut her eyes and began singing louder, clutching the microphone, "_I'll be there for you through it all..even if saving you sends me to heaven!" _Sakura sang louder and louder, everyone staring at Sakura in awe, lost for words.

Sakura finished and looked at everyone, smiling as she sat down drinking another glass of oolong tea. The night went by as Ino made Neji and Kiba sing, joining in with them as they stumbled throughout the whole song they had chosen to sing. Erie, surprisingly, was able to sing all of the songs in the song bank, including the one that Kiba deemed "Impossible." Hinata couldn't help but look at Sakura who kept drinking more and more tea, remaining drunk for the whole time they were at the karaoke bar.

At the end of the night everyone began going their ways back home. Ino walked out with Erie, supporting Sakura who was unable to walk home by herself. She turned to Hinata and smiled, "Haha things got pretty wild huh? Can't believe Sakura downed that many glasses of tea. Tsunade-sama won't be happy if she hears about this." Ino laughed.

Hinata gave a small smile and stepped toward, "Uhm..Ino-san, is it alright if I take Sakura-san home myself?" She quietly inquired.

Ino tilted her head and frowned slightly, "You sure Hinata? This girl's pretty giggly. I'm afraid she'll annoy you haha." Ino said jokingly.

"Ino-san..please." Hinata pleaded.

Ino noticed the hint of desperation in Hinata's voice and smiled, finally giving Sakura over to her. "Let me know if she causes you any trouble alright? I can have Tsunade-sama straighten her out later!" Ino laughed as she waved, walking with Erie back to her house.

Hinata waved and turned around, holding Sakura's arm around her shoulder as they both made their way back to Sakura's house. There were still some people out and about in the village, chatting and laughing in outdoor markets. The lanterns lighting up the street gave away to the stone pavement that caused Hinata's shoes to drag against the ground, the sound of her walking echoing into the night.

Hinata managed to open Sakura's front door, walking both of them inside as she closed the door behind them. Sakura had calmed down quite a bit but still mumbled to herself, keeping her arm around Hinata's shoulder. Hinata took her shoes off as well as Sakura's and led her upstairs, the creaking of the wooden steps breaking the silence of Sakura's empty house. Hinata opened the door to Sakura's room and led her in, looking around the room she had never been in before. Hinata laid Sakura down on her bed and smiled, gently stroking Sakura's cheek as she looked down at the sleeping girl.

Hinata began making her way back towards the door when she felt a tug on the back of her jacket. Hinata looked back to see Sakura with her eyes open and looking at her with a sad look, "H-Hinata.." Sakura quietly said as she sat up and tugged again, "Hinata..why don't..*hic* you love meee.." It was evident that Sakura was still slightly drunk. "I jus..h-have deez feelings for you..a-and..I want to love you every day without having to hide it." Sakura began weeping quietly, her right arm clutching her bed sheets as she tried to hide her sobbing.

Hinata, shocked, looking at Sakura with a moment of hesitation, _"Sakura-chan…what can I do to help you feel better? I can't stand it when you're hurting.."_ Hinata couldn't help but frown, not knowing how to console the one she cared about.

Hinata bit her lower lip and turned around, stepping toward Sakura's bed. She lifted Sakura's chin and looked into her eyes, Sakura's eyes now looking back into Hinata's lavender eyes. Sakura's eyes began looking at Hinata in wonderment, her left hand unconsciously holding Hinata's hand against her cheek.

"_Sakura-chan…her cheeks are getting warmer." _ Hinata thought as she noticed Sakura blushing slightly. _"I want.. to make her happy" _Hinata looked deeper into Sakura's eyes.

Hinata leaned in and held Sakura's face on either side, kissing Sakura suddenly. Sakura, surprised, wrapped her arms around Hinata's neck and kissed her back. Hinata's heart was beating faster and faster, she wrapped her arms around Sakura and began kissing her more passionately. By this time, Sakura was blushing like mad but getting more into it. Pulling Hinata on top of her, Sakura ran her hands through Hinata's long soft hair and started tugging at the zipper of Hinata's jacket.

"_Her breath still tastes of alcohol. Is this right?.." _Hinata kept reeling in her mind. She kept both her hands on either side of Sakura keeping herself up. _"Is it right to take advantage of her feelings like this?" _ Hinata kept thinking of these types of things but was not aware of what her body was doing. Before she knew it, Hinata had unzipped Sakura's top and slid up her mesh undershirt. _"No..this can't be right." _Hinata stopped the kissing and looked down at Sakura, quietly thinking to herself, _"If I do this..it doesn't mean anything. Sakura's still drunk, she wouldn't remember it anyway. I'm just..I'm just doing this to make her feel better." _Hinata moved her hand along the bed sheets and too Sakura's cheek, smiling down at her sadly, "_Also…I don't know for sure if I'm really in love with Sakura-chan."_

Hinata got up off of Sakura and sat next to her, Sakura looking up at her, "Hinata..w-what's wrong?"

"Sakura-chan…I can't do this. I can't do this to you." Hinata turned her head towards Sakura, who was showing signs of drowsiness. "I feel like I'm just doing this to make you feel better. I can't stand seeing you cry, especially when it's me you're crying about." Hinata gripped the sheets and smiled bitterly, "I'm sorry Sakura-chan.." She hovered over Sakura and zipped up her top, getting up after, "And I'm not sure myself if I love you. Please give me some time Sakura-chan. This is all happening so fast…" Hinata got up and stopped over the threshold of the door, looking back at Sakura who had soundly fallen asleep. Hinata descended the stairs and left Sakura's house, the sound of crickets echoing into the night.

A shadow was hopping rooftop to rooftop quietly, its' footsteps leaving no trace of lingering. The shadow stopped on a nearby tree branch and watched Hinata walking down the street from Sakura's house. The shadow slowly formed into a ninja, a ninja holding a dart of some kind. A hint of moonlight shined on the ninja's face, revealing a grin, "Hehe.._sleep._"

With that the dart was down towards Hinata, piercing the skin of her blindspot. Hinata collapsed shortly after, the mysterious ninja already jumping towards Sakura's house. "_Guh..what's going on?! I can't.."_ Hinata was quickly losing consciousness, _"I can't move..my body.."_ Hinata could no longer keep her heavy eyelids open and blacked out.

The window to Sakura's room opened quietly. In the windowsill crouched the shady figure, its' shadow in an ominous figure. The ninja hopped into the room quietly and walked over to the slumbering Sakura, smirking as it drew closer and closer. "_Hehe..you're mine now." _The rough voice that came from the figures' lips sent a cold wind through the room.

A small orb of some kind was taken out of the ninja's satchel. Sakura was draped over their shoulder, her hands and feet both bound and secured by a chain. The orb was thrown against the ground and a huge cloud of smoke dispersed into the air. Once the smoke cleared, both Sakura and the kidnapper were gone from sight and Hinata still out cold on the ground a few yards from Sakura's house.

-_To be continued_-


	5. Chapter 5: The Truth?

"Nn…my head feels heavy." Sakura thought as she came to, her eyelids heavy and her mind so foggy. When Sakura finally opened her eyes she was greeted by pure darkness, a blindfold was wrapped and tied securely around her eyes. "What's going on?" Sakura got up and squirmed, her arms bound tightly behind her back.

"Well it's about time you got up!" A voice rang.

Sakura's body tensed up as she pointed her face forward, trying to determine whose voice seemed to know her so well. Sakura continued to struggle against the ropes that bound her. "If I can just reach my kunai..: Sakura groaned in her mind as she reached for her weapon pouch, "Wait..where is it?!"

Sakura heard the footfalls of her captor approaching her slowly, anticipation and alarm growing at an exponential rate. "Whoa Sakura there's no cause for alarm! You don't need to be so tense around me~" The voice chuckled.

Completely silent, Sakura continued to ponder who had taken her, "This voice…it sounds so familiar but I can't place it!" Sakura scowled as her body went rigid sensing the captor's presence very close to her.

The ninja sat down in front of Sakura and snapped her fingers. Beside her, coming from a cloud of smoke, appeared a tiger-fox hybrid. Its body and tail was soft and a tiny of yellow and orange, striped with jagged streaks. The ears were slightly bigger than a regular tigers but pointed and faded black at the tips. The creature's build was slim but strong, its proud and regal appearance for all to see.

"Trixy, go and stand watch outside ok?" The ninja pat Trixy on the head, causing her to purr and sway her tail around. "Heh good girl. Now go silly." The animal trotted off into the dark night, leaving Sakura to still wonder what was going on. "Now then, back to business. Sakura, there is a good reason why I brought you here." The voice lulled.

"Who are you? What do you want with me?!" Sakura practically yelled, getting more frustrated fearing the worst.

The ninja smiled and pat Sakura on the shoulder," The only thing you need to know, Sakura Haruno, is that I am not your enemy. I share desire of vengeance against the same one that you do."

Sakura hesitated before speaking again, "How..how do I know you're telling the truth?" Sakura's tone still a bit suspicious.

"Ah. About that…" The ninja pulled something from the shadows and placed it in Sakura's hand, closing her hand around it after. "Do not open your hand until this meeting is over and your blindfold is off. This swears my allegiance to an organization set to protect your world and its beings. If it is seen by anyone else other than you, your loved ones will be in danger."

"E-everyone I love?" Sakura stuttered. Her mind couldn't help but think of Hinata.

"Yes. Now listen carefully Sakura. You've noticed that one of your comrades has been acting differently yes?" the voice calmly said.

Sakura thought for a while before muttering," Naruto.."

"Correct. The reasons for his actions were unclear at first. When I was summoned to Konoha I was told to seek you out because you saw first hand how much he had changed."

"Tch..Naruto's turned into such a jerk." Sakura grimaced.

"Well Sakura, the reason behind all this is possession." The ninja explained.

"Possession?" Sakura repeated slowly, bewildered.

"Yes. You know about the bijuu sealed inside him right? It seems that something else has manifested itself inside Naruto along with the demon. This unknown being seems to be working with the bijuu to take over Naruto." Said the mysterious figure.

"How do you know all of this?" Sakura inquired.

The ninja sighed and continued on," Well for one thing, I can sense the presence of beings not of this world. Also, it took residence in me a few years back."

"It did?" Sakura was somewhat shocked.

"Sakura, there isn't enough time to explain everything. Look, the night is almost over. Over time you will begin to understand all of what I told you." The ninja whistled for Trixy and stood up, she untied Sakura and set her up on Trixy who had just come in, "Now Sakura, remember that all the things I've told you are strictly confidential. Not even your Hokage can know of this until I have taken back what's mine. You know what the consequences are if this information is leaked.." A gust of wind circulated throughout the area and blew from under the two of them, causing them to levitate.

"Will I see you again?" Sakura asked as she clutched the furry creature, still blindfolded.

"Hehe you definitely will Skura, Besides, I'll be needing that thing I gave you back!" The ninja laughed, quickly did several hand seals, and pressed her left hand a few inches from the ground muttering," _Telepis Cyclor."_ With those words they were teleported back to Sakura's now closed room.

Sakura wobbled as she was dropped in her room, staggering as she fell back onto her bed. Her blindfold slowly unraveled as she asked, "How will I know who to give it back to?.."

The blindfold was almost off when Sakura heard," Believe me, you'll know!" By the time the blindfold had come off, Sakura could only catch a glimpse of the sole of the ninja's shoe who had disappeared into thin air.

Sakura looked around her room, got up from her bed and closed her door walking to her window to close the drapes. She crawled back onto her bed and turned around, leaning against the wall.

Sakura looked at her closed hand, thinking to herself," _If what this person says is true, that's not the real Naruto. And if..if Hinata finds this out, will she go back to him? Will he accept her feelings too? Dammit! What have I gotten myself into?!" _Sakura furrowed her brow and looked around her room once more, making sure no one was around. She opened her hand to find a small necklace in her hand, its chain weaved with what seemed like metal stems and the pendant in the shape of a budding rose with sprouting wings." What…what is this?" Sakura whispered to herself.

Sakura slowly wrapped the chain around her neck and snapped the link into place. As the moonlight shown through the cracks of the curtains, Sakura's eyes grew heavy again eventually falling back to sleep. A very dim red glow came from the rose jewel and resonated with the pair of wings, causing them to move and cover the rose. Once covered, the glow from the pendant grew fainter, eventually vanishing along with the pendant that was now gone from view.

_-The morning after-_

Sakura woke up to the sound of banging on her room window. She sat up in her bed and groaned, her eyes still closed, "Ugh, who the hell is banging on my window this early?! It's only…" Sakura looked at her nightstand and squinted staring at her clock, "Ten. o' .clock a.m." Sakura muttered to herself, "Eh..I guess it isn't THAT early then." Sakura thought to herself.

"Sakura! Sakuraaaaa!" Yelled a voice outside that was followed with more banging, "OPEN UP! It's Ino!"

Getting up from her bed, Sakura walked to the window, yelling back," Hey Ino-pig! What's up!"

Ino groaned on the other side of the window, yelling more urgently," Sakura, NOW is not the time for this! I have important news to tell you!"

Sakura arched her brow and drew away the drapes, opening the window to see Ino looking more worried than ever, " Ino what's wrong?" Sakura asked.

Ino grabbed Sakura by the collar and yelled, "Sakura how can you be sleeping at a time like this?!"

"Whoa whoa whoa Ino! Since when the hell is it ok to reprimand me like this? What the fuck is going on?!" Sakura snapped back.

"Dammit Sakura we really don't have time for this!" Ino retorted.

Sakura blankly stared at her, "I guess you'll just have to tell me then."

Ino scowled and said directly to Sakura, "You wanna play that way? Fine you _baka._ Hinata's in the hospital in critical condition. Tsunade-sama wants you there NOW."

Sakura's mind went into a state of shock, "_W-what?!" _she thought. "What do you mean critical condition?!" Sakura stammered as she tried to get her shoes on.

"I'll explain on the way. Just hurry up!" Ino said as she stood on the slanted roof right beside the window.

Sakura climbed out of her window in a rush, just barely able to lock it as she jumped from roof to roof with Ino.

"Last night you got pretty drunk. I was about to start walking you home when Hinata offered to bring you home for me. I guess after she made sure you were safe and sleep in your bed she made her way home. She was found not too far from your house unconscious with a dart in the back of her neck." Ino explained as they approached the hospital.

"W-what else?" Sakura asked hesitantly.

Ino stopped on a rooftop near the entrance of the hospital. "She..she wasn't breathing and by the time she was found, she had suffered an incredible amount of blood loss." She said grimly.

From inside Sakura's chest, her heart started beating faster and green markings started glowing as she appeared on it. Sakura's eyes slowly transitioned into a brighter green. Her eyes were locked on the hospital, unaware that the immense amount of chakra she was exuding was lifting up nearby rubble as well as Sakura's hair, growing longer and more wild.

Ino turned back to Sakura, utterly shocked at the sight before her, "Sa-Sakura?..What the hell is going on?!" Ino said to herself as she stared at Sakura, afraid.

Sakura's eyes were a now full-on forest green color. Her hair was now down below her knees and wilder like a wolf's mane. Sakura's gritting canine teeth were now pointed fangs and her hands claws, tearing through her gloves. Fierce green chakra was flooding out of Sakura's body fast.

"Saku-" Before Ino could finish, she was blinded with a gust of wind that carried leaves and other various debris. When she managed to open her eyes, Sakura had vanished, leaving Ino outside and bewildered.

_-Hospital-_

There were medical ninjas hastily walking to and from various areas of the hospital. Sakura walked through the crowded corridors hearing the beeping of hospital equipment echo in her ears. Sakura's appearance was now back to normal except for her eyes.

Sakura kept her head down and slinked towards the emergency room after asking the reception desk. Her eyes were still glowing green as she reached the double doors. As she reached for the door handle, the pendant from Sakura's kidnapper appeared around her neck. The rose ornament started glowing again and resonated with the force inside Sakura, causing her eyes to return to her jade-green ones. She opened the door to see Tsunade shouting orders while holding a clipboard. "How is she Tsunade-sama?" Sakura asked while removing her gloves.

"Sakura you're here!" Tsunade said worried. "I'm afraid her condition is not looking good. Because of all the blood Hinata has lost, her body is starting to shut down. The poison is accelerating this process, making the expectancy of her life span all the more shorter. If nothing is done..I'm afraid she won't make it." Tsunade grimly explained.

"…Tsunade-sama, do you have a branching aide?" Sakura asked in a monotonous tone.

Tsunade raised her brow and looked at Sakura who was looking at Hinata intensely, "A what?

Sakura breathed in and out slowly, explaining calmly, "A branching aide. I looked it up on my studies. It is a mechanism that helps focus healing chakra to the most vital points of the body." Sakura walked to a nearby bookshelf, pulling out a marked book of decent mass. Sakura flipped to a certain place of the book and quickly scanned it, " These few pages should help explain it in detail."

Tsunade briefly skimmed through the pages but stopped abruptly, "Sakura we can't use this! It says it requires almost an entire person's chakra to bring someone out of near a death state. This is like a suicide option Sakura! I can't make that sort of risk!"

Sakura turned to Tsunade, her eyes now forest green and glowing again, "Do not worry Tsunade-sama." Sakura's voice sounded different, like there was someone speaking through her as well. "I will take care of this…" Sakura walked up a small flight of steps and found the branching aide. She fastened the mechanism that branched out and over Hinata's body to the banister from which she stood. The preparations it took to set it up took no more than two minutes for Sakura.

"Sakura?.." Tsunade muttered in shock after she had seen Sakura's eyes and heard her voice. "_No.._" Tsunade thought to herself. " It can't be! The forest dragon.." Tsunade rushed up the stairs towards Sakura, "Sakura don't do it!"

By then, Sakura had already started the mechanism and begun channeling her chakra into the feed point. "I will absolutely save Hinata!" She proclaimed as her chakra flared around her.

Tsunade reached Sakura, extended her forefinger and middle, and pressed them against Sakura's temple, "_Mind Sync!_" With that Tsunade synchronized her mind with Sakura's preventing movement on either's part.

_-Sakura's mind-_

Tsunade opened her eyes to find herself in a completely empty white space. Tsunade began calling out for Sakura, but her own voice just echoed into the white abyss.

She started walking around aimlessly, stopping short when she saw what seemed to be a tag of some sort. Tsunade picked up the tag to see a single green stroke of ink. In front of her appeared a gust of emerald-colored wind, weaving itself in a circle until it became a giant hurricane. Tsunade shielded herself from the wind, hearing a great roar from in front of her. From out of thin air came a dragon of great measure and reverence. It towered several stories. It stood on four legs, its body structure like that of any great predator, and its sharp claws a force to be reckoned with. The skin of the dragon was of a dark green hue, thick, and very tough. The horns were curved up and back from the head. The wings of the dragon were spread to reveal them to be of great size, one gust from it could level an entire forest. The eyes shined brilliantly like newly polished gems, the color recognizable with Sakura's glowing ones.

"Well well, who do we have here?" came a dreamy female voice. Tsunade looked up at the immense dragon in shock. From the top of the dragon's head floated down a woman of similar height to Tsunade, her hair long and wild with a tint of mint green. "Why if it isn't the famed Tsunade-hime!" the woman smirked. "To what do I owe this honor?" she giggled.

Tsunade eyed the woman, asking cautiously "Are you the dragon's master?"

The mysterious woman laughed, "Haha no honey! I am not this dragon's _master._ I AM the dragon. The name's Feng. That is just one of _many_ forms I take." She smiled.

"_Tch..this bijuu is more mysterious than I thought._" Tsunade thought.

"Now Tsunade-hime let's get down to business. What's the reason why you're here?" the woman said as she sat in the air.

Tsunade scowled and retorted, "You know why I'm here Feng! Release your control of my student! I do not want her to risk her life like this." She said forcefully.

Feng raised her brow and let her smile fade away, looking Tsunade square in the eye, "You are very mistaken Tsunade. I am not controlling her. The girl is doing this entirely on her own free will. You'll do well to not get in her way."

"Is that a threat!?" Tsunade twitched.

Feng chuckled and folded her arms, "Hooo..are you challenging me?" She raised her brow and smirked, " Even though you are one of the legendary Sannin, you are in no position to threaten me. And consider it a warning hon. Being in the state she's in now, Sakura's mind and body are in great discord. Right now, her _wavelength_ is only slightly off balance." Feng explained.

"_Wavelength?_ What the hell are you talking about?" Tsunade questioned.

Feng sighed, "You don't know anything do you? I'm only saying this ONCE. Sakura has her own wavelength, balance of the body if you will. So do I. Right now, our wavelengths are tangled with one another." She continued.

"So what does that mean exactly?" Tsunade dully inquired.

"Geez. Let me make this short and to the point." Feng rubbed her forehead, irritated. "If there is another rupture in Sakura's balance, it's bad news. A rupture is easily caused by causing more stress to her body like what you're trying to do."

"Just get to the point already!" Tsunade impatiently commanded.

Feng grimaced and motioned her forefinger over Tsunade's mouth, "I suggest you let me finish or Sakura won't be the only one gone." Feng removed her finger from Tsunade's mouth and continued, "If that happens, our wavelengths will combine. If that happens.." she waved her hand and smiled, "Bye bye Sakura Haruno!"

Tsunade stood there silent.

"Basically.." Feng leaned back and scratched the back of her head, "Her own chakra will be leaked from her body, replacing it with mine. The raw power from mine is simply too much for her to handle. It'll kill her. If my host dies, I will permanently take her place." she explained. Motioning with her hand, Feng lifted Tsunade up and created a vortex behind her. "For her safety and your own, I suggest you let her do this. Besides.." Feng's voice got more faint as Tsunade was pushed back, "She won't die from this. Worry when she has to fight _her_." Wind began whipping around the pair. "By the way, don't broadcast what happens if she dies. As you should already know, many seek my power. You will be caught in the crossfire if it escalates further than that.

Before she knew it, Tsunade was pushed through the vortex. Tsunade fell to the floor and sat there, thinking about all she had heard. All she could do was stare at Sakura, whose chakra was now rushing through the channels of the branching aide and into Hinata's body. Five minutes passed. Thirty minutes. For an entire hour Sakura stood there, straining her body greatly to save the one she loved so dearly. The only thing the others could do was moniter Hinata and painstakingly watch Sakura's body begin to shut down.

"Tsunade-sama, Hinata-san is awake!" one of the medical ninjas yelled.

Tsunade quickly descended the stairs and stood by Hinata, "Hinata are you alright!?" she asked as she looked down at Hinata who barely had her eyes open.

"Nng.." Hinata groaned as she shifted her body. "Tsunade-sama?.." she managed to mumble. "What..what happened?" Hinata tried getting up, but just laid back on the table moaning in pain.

"Hinata, don't try getting up. Your body's been through a lot." Tsunade calmly said. She stepped aside and muttered something to a nearby ninja who then went up to check on Sakura, who had fallen back onto a stretcher that was positioned behind her. "Hinata, let me fill you in on what happened…" Tsunade proceeded to tell her what happened to her.

"So I was shot with a dart near Sakura-san's house.." Hinata repeated to herself. Hinata's bed was cranked up to let her sit up. She continued to think intently on what happened when something caught her eye. Sakura, out cold, was carefully being carried down the stairs in a stretcher. Her skin was pale and sweaty. Sakura's breathing was quiet but very pained. The medical ninjas that accompanied her carried her towards the doors, very worried.

Hinata's eyes widened as she saw Sakura's grave state, "What h-happened to Sakura-san?" her tone was frantic.

"Well…" Tsunade hesitated to speak once more, contemplating the repercussions of explaining everything. She sighed and simply said, "The only thing I can say is…" Tsunade turned her head towards Sakura who was being carried through the double doors, "You owe her your life." Tsunade turned to Hinata and smiled, "Get some rest Hinata. You can visit Sakura when you're feeling better." She gently pat Hinata's shoulder and walked out of the room.

_-Hinata's recovery room-_

Hinata sat upright in her hospital bed, zoning out as nurses came and went. Her recovery was slow, but steady. Many visited the patient that was sharing the room with Hinata, but hours went by and Hinata still had no visitors.

Around 4 p.m., Hinata heard another knock at the door, assuming the visitor was fore her room mate. In came Neji, holding a small box. :Hinata-sama, I'm glad to see that you're ok." Neji sat on a small chair beside Hinata's bed, placing the box on the small tray that was fixed a little above Hinata's lap. "I thought you might've wanted to do something while you're in here."

Hinata smiled at Neji, "Thank you.." She took off the lid of the box to find a small decorated book along with an indigo pen, "I-..is this a diary?" Hinata questioned.

"Yes it is. Given that you have been going through a great deal lately, I thought you might want to get some feelings off your chest if you haven't done so already." Neji looked at the clock and got up from his seat, "I'm sorry Hinata-sama. I have to leave. I'm almost late to my training with Ten-Ten and Lee."

As Neji walked out the door, Hinata opened the diary and flipped through the blank pages, Again she zoned out, quietly tapping the pen against the book. Hinata sat back up and rested her arms on the tray, pressing the tip of the pen against the page, "_Dear diary…_" she wrote. Her hand moved slowly as her beautiful handwriting continued, "_ So much has happened these past few days ever since Naruto-kun came back. So many injuries.." _Hinata's mind started drifting off as she unconsciously started drawing a sketch of Sakura. Hinata focused again and stared at the drawing, " _Sakura-san confessed to me yesterday…"_ she began writing again. "_She said that…she loves me. I don't know if I feel the same way. But even before Naruto-kun came back, Sakura-san has been so nice and sweet to me. Her smile back then was so wonderful; her eyes bright and her happiness obvious. She would come visit me as well as help me train." _Hinata paused for a moment then blushed, "_Could…could she have had feelings for me even back then?!" _Hinata gripped the sheets and continued to write, "_When she found me by the lake the day I confessed to Naruto-kun, she seemed to go so out of her way just for me. She seemed to..push herself more than she would have for Sasuke-san. That moment…seeing her tired and panting just to find me, what did it mean to me?"_

Another knock came from the door. Sasuke walked in wearing a different set of clothes. A sleeveless shirt and dark pants adorned his slim stature. "Hey there Hinata." He placed a small get well card on the stand next to her and smiled, "Glad to see you're alright. Just came from shopping and thought I would stop by." Sasuke positioned his arm back so his groceries hanged against his back. "I saw Sakura earlier. She seems to be alright. Visit her soon ok?" Sasuke waved and walked out of the room, leaving Hinata with the card.

"Hinata slowly picked up the get-well card, turning it around in her hands. She finally opened the card, reading it to herself, "_Hinata, I don't know if I'm just overthinking this too much but I think Sakura is really in love with you. Despite being in pain thinking about your situation, she seems genuinely happy when she thinks about you. " _Hinata stopped reading. Her eyes kept reading over the last sentence, " S-sakura-san is happy when she thinks about me?"

Feeling a sudden rush of energy, Hinata got up from her bed and put on sandals. She exited the room and slowly made her way to the reception desk. She hunched over against the counter and quietly asked where Sakura was.

"Hm? You're looking for Sakura Haruno?" Let's see…" The nurse mumbled to herself while flipping through some files until she looked back up again, "Aha! I found the file. Haruno-san is on the fourth floor at the end of the main hall, first set of double doors on the left!"

Hinata nodded and thanked the nurse. She made her way to the elevator. While in the moving elevator Hinata thought, "_Sakura-san has done so much for me. And I just return the favor with bitter feelings…" _Hinata leaned against the wall and tilted her head back, "_Now that I think about it, Sakura-san was always different to me. Something about her made me want to be around her even more. Even now…under these circumstances, I thought I would still be thinking about Naruto-kun. But he's not even important anymore, S-.." _Hinata stopped and blushed, holding her hand over her mouth, "_Sakura-chan is important to me. She..she has always been. I just didn't realize it till now." _Hinata covered her eyes and tears ran down her cheek, but there was a smile on her face, "_Heh..it took me this long to realize this?How ridiculous." _Hinata wiped her eyes and looked towards the elevator doors as it was reaching the fourth floor, "_Sakura-chan, I need to tell you. I need to tell you that….that I love you!"_

Hinata got off the elevator and made her way to Sakura's room, stopping right in front of the door. Hinata opened the door only to see through a small crack in the door. Her eyes widened as she saw something she could barely believe. From Hinata's point of view, she saw a female ninja leaning over Sakura's face as if she was kissing her.

Hinata could only look through the door thinking, "_S..Sakura-san?" _Her heart felt heavy and her breathing sparse. The only thing Hinata could see that could possibly identify the ninja was a small blue pendant that dangled from her neck.

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**Author's Note**: Sorry about the lack of chapters! College takes a lot of my time. I'll be sure to continue working on future chapters. Please bear with this for the time being. Thanks!


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